Titans defeat Chiefs 22-21 in first playoff win since 2003

It wasn’t quite Super Bowl LI but the AFC wildcard game between the 4th-seeded Chiefs and the 5th-seeded Titans definitely delivered the second half drama. In the end, another unexpected comeback and and heroic plays from the quarterback are the story of the Titans narrow 22-21 win in the vaunted Arrowhead Stadium,

Of course, what happened in between is worth recapping quickly. After jumping out to an early 14-3 lead, the Chiefs were driving down the field again with under two minutes to go in the first half. Alex Smith threw a short pass up the middle to Travis Kelce, who was having a monster half with four receptions for 66-yards and a touchdown.

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However Kelce was rocked on what appeared to be a helmet-to-helmet hit, although the hit wasn’t flagged by the officials. The pass was incomplete and Kelce was visibly shaken, supported by his teammates as he tried to stand up. He walked off the field and into the locker room and was ruled out of the rest of the game with a concussion.

The Chiefs finished that drive with a 14-yard touchdown reception by Demarcus Robinson, but Kelce’s injury marked the turning point for the home team.

The Titans got the ball to start the second half and embarked on a 15-play, 91-yard drive that culminated in a Marcus Mariota touchdown pass to Marcus Mariota. No you didn’t read that wrong. Mariota scrambled outside the pocket toward the end zone and went to pass it on the run, but the pass was batted down — right back into his hands.

The Chiefs followed that up with back-to-back possessions after Titans special teamer, Adoree Jackson, muffed the punt catch and gave the ball back, but that drive ended in a missed 48-yard field goal attempt by Harrison Butker. When the Titans finally got the ball back, they put together another scoring drive, this time culminating in a 14-yard pass to Delanie Walker for a touchdown – though they missed their ensuing two-point conversion attempt.

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Luckily for the Titans, their defense took care of the Chiefs yet again to give the ball back to Mariota, who with the help of Derrick Henry led the team down the field again and eventually got the ball to Eric Decker in the end zone for the go-ahead touchdown.

They missed the two-point conversion attempt on that score as well, but it turned out they didn’t need it anyway.

When they got the ball back after the two-minute warning after the stopping the Chiefs offense yet again, it was all about winding down the clock — which meant they needed Henry to do what he does. They didn’t, however, anticipate that it would be Mariota himself who would ensure that his running back did just that.

It’s hard to outdo a touchdown pass to yourself, but he almost did it with this absolutely epic block to clear the lane on the outside for Henry.

That sealed the deal for the Titans, whose victory in Kansas City was their first in the playoffs since the 2003 season. They’ll wait on the results of Sunday’s showdown between the Bills and Jaguars to find out whether they’ll travel to Gillette Stadium to take on the Patriots or Heinz Field to face the Steelers next week.